Sculptor JAGO celebrates his first single major exhibition in Rome’s Palazzo Bonaparte

Looking towards the Vittorio Emanuele Monument, you are in for the treat to see the modern work of young and thriving artist JAGO, following the footsteps from no other than Da Vinci and Michelangelo. An exhibition bringing renaissances best traditions into the present and connecting it with an audiovisual experience you will not forget.

Until the 28th of August the wonderful Palazzo Bonaparte has dedicated a full major exhibition to the newcomer JAGO, a true rockstar of an artist. Within six rooms, visitors are able to get in touch with the marble sculptures and the complex mindset of Jacopo Cardillo. Since JAGO finished his studies at the Academy of fine Arts in 2010 his career quickly took off and he worked in Italy, China and the US.

JAGO. The Exhibition – how static Sculptures meet the pulsing Rhythms of Rome — Jago, Habemus Hominem, 2009-2016, marble, 60x35x69 cm – Photo by Jago

Quickly managing to excite a steadily growing audience with only 24 years he was invited to take part in the 54^th edition of the Venice Biennale, Europes most important art fair. Displaying Habemus Hominem, the marble bust of Pope Benedict XVI (2009) JAGO polarized with this very piece not only in Venice but in the Carlo Bilotti Museum in Villa Borghese, where it attracted a record number of visitors in 2018. The Piece is showing the Pope naked and showing a form of symbolism for the spoliation of the Pope Emeritus and manifest within the sweet smile of the bust’s face.

Over the years JAGO showed also a special interest in audiovisual interaction, presenting his art and creating processes online in creative ways. Having also a background in sound-engineering Jago is finding unique ways to stage his art – on- and offline.

At the Palazzo Bonaparte the 35 year old artist shares a number pieces guiding through his so far career. In six different rooms, each sculpture is draped carefully, engaging with the interior and room design. From a pulsing circle of thirty ceramic anatomical harts to a hall of mirrors, this exhibition tries successfully to catch the attention in various ways bringing spectators as close to the art pieces as possible.

Only a few steps in it gets clear that JAGO has a clear vision and feeling aligned with each piece, a vision that is visible in the exhibition. Together with the curator Maria Teresa Benedetti, every room has its own look, feeling and not at least its own sound.

While sculptures may seem as a rather static art form, Jago combines each piece with an own rhythm, starting with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons ending with self-mixed techno beats that meet snippets of descriptions of the work. “When I work on my marble, I am using the hammer and that produces rhythm and sounds that are pretty similar to the sound of a heart beat. So this is my way of producing art and so a Sculpture is rhythm and rhythm is music. The two artforms are inseparable for me, there is no difference“, he describes the connection between audio and art.

One of the central pieces of the show is the Figlio Velato. This piece shows a child’s body lying under a sheet that is falling down in soft lines. It is clearly following the famous 18^th century stature of the Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sanmarino which is located in a Church in Naples. Placed in front of the big windows heading towards the Vittorio Emanuele Monument, the quiet and sorrow-full statue gets into the context of daily rush and interacts in a painful way with the busy hustle perfectly evoking grief in the viewers.

Next door obtaining a very similar effect is a stature showing a crying man holding a child: Pietà. It is one of the most recent pieces of JAGO and is sculpted after a photograph that was taken by reporter Manu Brado in the Civil War of Syria. “I consider myself a man and a sculptor of my time. While I use marble as a noble material linked to tradition, I deal with fundamental themes of the era in which I live. My bond with the world is very strong. I look at what is around me, I give it shape, and I share it”, says Jago addressing his work.

Alongside the Pieces there are several video-installation and fragments showing the process behind the marble statues. Varying from stop motion, Video snippets or smaller models and sketches, the exhibition not only successfully gathers the broad work of Jago but also present his specific procedures. A truly unique experience right in the pulsing heart of Rome.